1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to membranes suited for use as water/moisture barrier or sound insulation in roofing, flooring and other related applications.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The prior art reveals the use of moisture barriers chiefly aimed at the roofing trade. A fundamental limitation in the way moisture barriers are installed requires a bump producing overlap of the joints. This limitation is a major drawback in the use of such membranes in the flooring trade. Indeed, a floor surface cannot tolerate the presence of a bump underneath a floor surface since that bump transfers to the floor surface. Even for roofs the presence of bumps can become a problem since it is often required for workers to walk on roof surfaces such as when maintaining air conditioning units or other such pieces of equipment found on roofs. Walking across bumps or dragging and carrying equipment across bumps can damage the overlap and which can result in a leak.
The membrane currently used for roofing and which has already excellent properties which makes it a perfect choice for a variety of applications going beyond its original purpose. Currently such membrane consists of at least one layer of bitumen or related substance offering hydrophobic properties and coated on one or two faces by one or several films (or other materials) and is reinforced or not either at its core or surface.
In the wooden flooring trade, there is no use of such impermeable membranes which are true moisture barriers, rather, moisture retardant membranes are used to help reduce problems related to expansion and contraction of floors using wood as its main component although moisture can also affect other types of flooring material such as ceramic tiles, carpet, vinyl, marble and others. The moisture barrier membrane arrangements currently used underneath ceramic tiles present some bumps (i.e. an uneven top surface) which result in mechanical weaknesses. On the other hand, moisture retarding underlayments are, like the term implies, means for slowing down variations in moisture level. That is useful for short term fluctuations in moisture levels but in areas where moisture such as from an unheated basement is present at a high level for weeks or even months, this can cause serious warping on a wooden floor since, over time, moisture will pass through the moisture retarder and infiltrate the wood fibers.
Another way by which moisture can infiltrate from underneath is when moisture is released by the concrete, such as in a basement, which raises the level of moisture.
Moisture coming from underneath is very difficult to control and thus far, the only practical solution appears to be moisture retarder which have the problem of having moisture leaks occurring at the joints between strips of the membrane that are not sealed but merely overlapped. To overcome this, some membranes use taped joints but the tape can, over time, deteriorate and become useless, thus exposing opened joints.
Sound insulation membranes also suffer from sounds infiltration between adjacent membranes or layers of insulation material. The sound insulation membranes are typically abutted one against the other, thereby giving rise to the formation of a straight-through seam through which the sound can pass. Sound insulation sheet-like members are typically not overlap at the junction thereof to prevent the formation of bumps.